The girl
by Bubblies
Summary: I can't really think of a Summary. Mac and Rod take in a troubled Teen. Rebecca doesn't like her, Horace and Amy do. How much does Horace like her?
1. Another busy day

**I don't own anything blah blah blah you know all that yarble jarble.**

**This is my first CiC fic and I don't know all that much about politics...especially American ones so...yeah. Any ideas, like where you'd like to see it go or any helpful hints would be nice. **

**Chapter 1**

President Mackenzie Allen had been flat out all day. She had already been to two meetings and made a speech by 9 am and had a whole day, filled to the brim, in front of her. Mak had left before any of her family had risen and hadn't seen the children before they went off to school. That was not something she usually did, breakfast seemed to be the only meal they ate together anymore and Mak was disappointed that lately she hadn't been able to make it. She knew that the kids were disappointed, she could see it in their eyes when she did eventually see them. Mak knew that Rod wasn't happy about it either, she knew that he liked having meals together. There had been some times in the past where they fought about it, but Rod understood his wife's position.

After the second meeting, Mak hurried off towards her office as she was expecting an important phone call at 9:15. She arrived and took a seat behind her desk, waiting for the phone to ring. "Mak?" Mak looked up and saw her husband standing in the doorway. She got off her chair and walked over to him.

"Good morning First Gentleman, what can I do for you?" She said as she approached her husband. She stopped when she reached him and smiled.

"Well President Allen, I was hoping to find my wife here," Rod smiled back and was about to pull Mak into a kiss when the phone rang. Mak kissed her husband on the cheek, "I'm really sorry, but this is important," Rod nodded in understanding and left his wife to the phone call.

- - - - -

Mak didn't see her husband at all for the rest of the day, she really wanted to catch up with him, but she just didn't have the time. It wasn't until 9 PM when she could actually get back to her family. Both Horace and Rebecca were up in their rooms doing homework and Amy was already in bed. Mak sat on the couch next to Rod and sighed a sigh of relief. "I didn't think I'd ever be free again," She put her hand on her husband's knee and looked at him, "I'm sorry about this morning..."

"It's ok Mak, I do understand," Mak smiled gratefully at her husband, "I should go and see the kids."

By the time Mak returned to Rod, he was already getting ready for bed. She sat on the bed and, as he walked past, grabbed his hand and pulled him down next to her. "Did you want to talk to me about something this morning?"

"Yes Mak, I did." Rod got up again and walked out of the room, he returned a few seconds later holding a letter. "This came today,"

"What is it?" Mak took the letter from Rod and started to read. Mak's head dropped when she finished the letter. Her husband returned to her side and put his arm around her.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"This is quite a...shock. I never thought she'd do such a thing." Mak stopped and gathered herself, she didn't want to be a blabbering mess, especially if something important popped up and she was needed as President anytime in the late hours. "She was a few years younger than me I think. I'm pretty sure we met through our parents, her father was in the military too. As kids we were close, but then as we got older we drifted apart. She still called me up from time to time to catch up, but we weren't as close. She was very different to me. I think she was at our wedding, so you might have met her. She had a kid nearly a year after Horace and Rebecca were born and asked me to be the Godmother. You remember that don't you?"

"Yeah I think so," Rod rubbed his wife's shoulders trying to comfort her.

"I think that was the last time I ever saw her." Mak looked at the letter again, "So her daughter is coming to live with us?"

"It seems that way,"

"She couldn't have pick a better time to kill herself," Rod looked at Mak, shocked at what she had said, that was definatly not a Mak thing to say, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." Mak rubbed her eyes and looked at Rod, "It didn't say when she gets here,"

"I rang the number on the bottom, she wont be getting here for another few day, Thusday morning. Now I think we should go to sleep." Mak nodded to her husband and got up to get ready, he stood up with her and grabbed her hand, "Not so fast," He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. She smiled and put her hands around the back of his head, they both laughed and she pulled him in for a kiss.

_Reviews please!_


	2. The arrival

**Chapter 2**

The next day Mak was able to make it to breakfast with her family. In that time her and Rod told their kids about the letter they had recieved yesterday. "Her name is Andrea Jones and I believe she is about your age," Mak motioned towards Horace and Rebecca as she said this. "She will be arriving the day after tomorrow." Rod looked at the faces of his children as Mak explained. The only one who didn't seem to like the idea was Rebecca. She just sat at the table moving her cereal around with her spoon.

"Now you guys are to be polite to Andrea and try include her in things. We can't begin to emagine what she's going through, so I want you to be welcoming and make her feel at home." Rod added to what his wife had said. All three children nodded in understanding and then left the table to get ready for school. Mak looked at Rod and squeezed his hand.

- - - - -

Mak was again flat out for the next couple of days, being president and arranging things for Andrea. They moved another bed into Rebecca's room, she was anything but pleased. "It's just temporary, just until we get more word on what's going on," Rebecca just turned her back on her dad and walked out of her room.

Thursday morning arrived and it was just Mak's luck that she was being called into a meeting, one she hadn't planned, but couldn't really miss. So it was Rod who sent the kids off to school and waited for the guest to arrive. He didn't really know anything about the girl and was really wishing that Mak's meeting would finish before the girl got there. Mak didn't really know much about the girl, but she did know her mother, that was a step up from Rod.

- - - - -

Finally she arrived. Vince poked his head around the door of the living room, where Rod was sitting on the couch, "Mr Calloway, Miss Jones has arrived," Rod stood up and nodded.

"Thank you Vince," Vince disappeared for a moment then re-appeared with a girl of about 16. She was about 5'4, small build. She had dirty blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders and she was wearing clothes that looked a few sizes too large. Definatly not a girly-girl. As soon as she entered the room her head dropped and her hair fell in front of her face, obviously quite shy.

"Hello Andrea, I'm Rod," Rod held out his hand. Andrea didn't take it straight away, she looked at Rod and saw him smiling at her. She gave a little smile and took his hand. As soon as he shook it, she brought her hand right back to her side where she liked it.

Vince nodded at the First Gentleman and left. Rod looked at Andrea's bags, there were two large suitcases, two smaller suitcases, a backpack on her back and a guitar case in her hand. "So you like music, huh?" Andrea nodded and gripped her guitar tighter. There was awkward silence that followed, but it was broken quickly, as Mak walked through ther door and almost ran into Andrea.

"Oh sorry! Hi, you must be Andrea. I'm Mak," She extended her hand out to Andrea who shook it a lot quicker than she did Rod's. "Well let's get this stuff up to your room, which you'll be sharing with my daughter Rebecca for the time being."

After Andrea's things were put in Rebecca's room, Mak and Andrea went back into the living room, while Rod went into the kitchen to get them something to drink and keep out of the conversation, he noticed that Andrea seemed a little more comfortable around Mak.

- - - - -

Mak decided not to ask Andrea about her mother at that moment, even though she wanted to. It was pretty much all small talk about her interests and stuff about school. She also told Andrea about her kids and things like that. Unfortunatly being President means there's not all that much free time, she had to shoot off into her office. Papers to sign, phone calls to make, people to talk to.

Luckily for Rod, Mak left at the time the kids got home, meaning he wouldn't have to try and amuse her when she seemed so uncomfortable around him. Rod introduced Amy, Rebecca and Horace to Andrea and then asked them to take her for a tour around the place. Rebecca wasn't the only one who dreaded the idea, but by the look of Andrea, she was wishing to be anywhere but there also.


	3. Interrogation

**I thought I'd better say that I haven't see the episode where Mac's mother comes yet, that's next week, so she's not going to be in the story for now at least.**

**I probably should have filled you in at the beginning, but i forgot, Rod is still trying to decide whether to take the job as Baseball commisioner or not.**

**And a BIG thanks to all those helping me out. It's much appreciated :-)**

**Chapter 3**

"Mom, why is she in my room? There are plenty of other rooms in this huge place!" Rebecca made sure that Andrea was out of ear shot before she started on her mother. "I don't even know her..." Mac held up her hand and Rebecca stopped.

"Rebecca, this girl has been through a lot and I would prefer it if she was not alone at the moment. Now would you go and try be friendly with her?" Mac looked at her daughter sternly. Rebecca nodded and walked out of the room.

Mac sighed and headed into the kitchen where Rod was making them both a cuppa. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle. Rod turned around to face his wife, he smiled and kissed her. With a twinkle in her eye she pulled him closer and they kissed passionately. Amy walked into the kitchen and winced when she saw this, screwing up her face she walked out again.

Horace, who was outside of the kitchen, saw Amy's facial expression when she exited the kitchen. He gave her a questioning look and she made a gagging notion. Horace then gave a silent laugh before walking away, deciding not to go into the kitchen.

- - - - -

A few hours later Mac was seated at her desk in the Oval Office, another phone confrence. As soon as the conference was finished, she grabbed her coat and started for the door. She was stopped by the sudden appearance of Jim in the doorway. "Jim, what can I do for you?"

"I just heard word...and thought you'd like to know...rumors..."

"Jim, I don't have time to hear about rumors right now," Mac continued on her path, past the chief of staff. Jim followed after the President.

"I just thought you would like to know what may be hitting the papers in the morning," The President stopped and turned to face Jim, he continued, "They are saying that the girl is your love child." Mac just laughed at the idea.

"I am going upstairs now, go home Jim. Goodnight, I will see you tomorrow." At this she left her chief of staff and continued up to her family.

When she arrived upstairs she was greeted by a loving kiss from her husband. "You're in a good mood today,"

"Yeah, I got to see my wife for more than an hour today AND she's here for dinner tonight," Rod smiled and walked into the kitchen where he was cooking dinner.

"How's our guest?"

"Still alive...I think. No, Amy is amusing her I think," Mac nodded.

"Well I think I'm going to go freshen up, I'll get the kids to come for food when I'm done."

- - - - -

Rod was really pleased with how dinner went. Not only did he have his wife present, but there was no fighting or anything bad out of the kids. Andrea seemed a little awkward. The day had been a bit hectic, with Mac in and out of the place. They were both planning to have a sit down chat with her before bed though.

Mac, too, was happy about dinner. She missed sitting around the table with her family. She liked the chatter and hearing what was going on. She watched Andrea and felt sympathy for the kid. She didn't know how the girl was brought up, or much about her at all, but she could only imagine how hard it would be to lose her mother that way.

- - - - -

After they had finished eating, Mac and Rod called Andrea into the lounge room. It felt like an interrogation with the adults sitting together on one couch and Andrea opposite them. Mac started the conversation by apologizing, "Andrea, I'm very sorry about today, with me leaving and all, but being President - it happens," Andrea just nodded in understanding, so Mackenzie continued, "I want you to feel at home here and doing that means there are rules..." Andrea listened to the rules, the routine, bits and peices about the staff and what they were there for and all Rod and Mac had to say without saying a word. When she was excused she went straight to Rebecca's room and got ready for bed. Neither Andrea or Rebecca said a word to each other, Rebecca layed in bed listening to her ipod and Andrea tried to get to sleep.

When Andrea left the room, Mac look at her husband with a concerned look on her face. Rod read her thoughts and just placed a comforting hand on her knee, "It'll be ok."

_Thanks for the reviews guys, keep 'em coming!_


	4. The story

**Sorry, this chapter was a bit rushed , I've been so flat out lately. **

**Chapter 4**

The next morning Mac walked into the kitchen for breakfast. Rod and Amy were already there playing a game of snap on the table. "Good morning baby," She said and planted a kiss on her daughter's cheek. Amy jumped up in excitement, "SNAP! I bet you Daddy!"

Rod laughed, "You sure did." He then stood up and gave his wife a kiss, "Good morning."

"Mmm, good morning."

Andrea, Horace and Rebecca made their way into the kitchen, one after another. The twins finished their breakfast quickly and headed off to finish getting ready for school. Mac had informed Andrea the previous night that she would be starting school on monday, so she had no idea what to do when she finished breakfast. Mac noticed the lost look on the girl's face. "How about I call up someone from my staff, who isn't busy today, and get them to take you on a tour of the White house and it's grounds?"

There were no objections from Andrea, so it was set. Mac went downstairs to work, Andrea went on her tour and Rod stayed in the residence. Rod sighed and sat on the end of his bed. He really wanted to take the job as baseball commisioner, but he didn't want to be away from his family all the time, in New York. He knew that Mac didn't want him to go, but she never gave him any good reasons not too. Rod had to make his decision soon.

- - - - -

Mackenzie had just made it to the Oval office, and was about to take a seat at her desk, when Kelly knocked on the door and entered. "President Allen, I think you need to see this," She walked over to Mac and handed her a newspaper. Mac looked at the page it was open to and took a few moments to read the article that Kelly was showing her.

"Interesting, even slightly amusing," She handed the paper back to Kelly.

"Aren't you worried that..."

"No Kelly, I'm not really. I'm sure that you'll be having some...fun at the next press conference though,"

Kelly left the Oval office, as did Mac, only to be stopped by her husband just outside the door. "Rod, hi." Rod held a newpaper out to Mac, it was the same article in the same paper. "Mac have you seen this?"

"Yes I have. I suppose you're going to ask me whether or not it's true,"

"Don't be ridiculous, I know it's not true!" Mac smiled at this, "But I think that some of the people out there might and that might lose you some support,"

"As long as I've got yours, that's all that matters," With that she kissed Rod on the cheek, "Now Mr. Calloway, if you don't mind, I have some buisiness to attend to,"

Rod watched as his wife walked passed him and down the hall, she turned her head and winked at him before disappearing around a corning. He looked at the paper in his hands and sighed as he looked at the article that mentioned his wife.

- ...There has been talk that the girl that has recently come to live in the White house with the first family is actually President Mackenzie Allen's daughter from an affair she had years ago. Yesterday a 45 year old man stepped forward claiming he and Allen had a steamy affair 14 years ago and that the girl could possibly be his...-

- - - - -

By the time school had been let out and the kids were back, Andrea had already heard about the story numerous times. She was feeling really guilty and was dreading the time when Mac got home. She didn't want her to be angry. It turned out that she worried all for nothing. Mac got home and Andrea hurried up to her, apologizing profusely. Mackenzie just laughed it off, "It's ok Andrea, it's not your fault and really it's nothing to worry about,"

"Nothing to worry about? Mac..."

"Rod, I know perfectly well that this may make my support numbers decline, but I hope that they'd believe me over some stupid newspaper article. If they don't, well that's their problem." Mac said, cutting off her husband. Andrea decided to suck out of the conversation before Rod and Mac started arguing in front of her.

"Well I'm still sorry Mrs. Allen," The girl said before walking away from the couple. She headed to Rebecca's room, but stopped just outside the door to do up her shoe lace of her red chucks, which were always coming undone. Horace spotted her and walked towards her. "Hey there, how'd the tour go?" Andrea was startled by Horace. She stood up and faced him, she felt her face going red.

"Tour? Oh of the White House. It wasn't too bad. I wasn't expecting a history lesson along with it though," Horace laughed,

"Well I'll let you get back to what you were doing," He looked down at her shoes, then turned around and left.


	5. A tea party

**Sorry I took so long, this one is kinda rushed. I wanted to go to sleep, but not before I finished another chapter.**

**Chapter 5**

After two nights at the White House, Andrea still hadn't really talked to any of the other kids. She was sleeping in Rebecca's room, but Rebecca had barely said two words to her the whole time and Andrea was getting the feeling that she really didn't want her there, but that was fine with her as she didn't feel like talking much anyway. Horace seemed nice, he talked to her a bit and he seemed friendly, as did Amy, but Andrea didn't really wanna talk to anyone.

Andrea didn't actually like the idea of making new friends, simply because she didn't want to. She'd had friends where she lived before, with her mom, but she had to leave them and it hurt. The thought of getting attached just to leave again didn't strike her fancy.

"Hey Andrea, I'm just about to put on a movie, you wanna join me?" Horace poked his head into Rebecc's room where Andrea was sitting on her mattress with her guitar. She looked up, slightly startled by the appearence of his head,

"Uh...umm...yeah, sure," Andrea said, slightly uneasy, andgot up and put her guitar away before following Horace into the other room.

In the end they didn't actually end up doing much movie-watching. The movie was just background yabble and conversation starters for the two sitting on the couch. Halfway through the movie Andrea started to get really comfortable with talking to Horace, it was almost as though he was one of her old friends. She didn't know what it was about him, but she just felt comfortable and even happy talking to Horace.

- - - - -

Saturday morning Mac had been flat out and didn't get a chance to go back to go back to the residence until later in the afternoon. The first place she went when she did finally arrive home was Amy's room. She's had a lunch date with Amy, but had to cancel on her at the last minute, so she thought she'd better check up on her youngest to make sure she wasn't too disappointed.

If Amy was disappointed, she wasn't showing it at all. She was sitting on the floor in the middle of her room with Horace and Andrea. There was a miniature tea set in the middle of their little triangle and some cookies on a little plate. "Hi Mommy!"

"Hey sweetie," Amy jumped up, ran to her mother and gave her a hug, "We're having a tea party, do you want to join us? There's room!" Mac smiled at her daughter then looked at Horace and Andrea seated with their legs crossed, each with a tiny cup of imaginary tea in their hands.

"I suppose I could do with a nice cup of tea," Mac took a seat opposite from Andrea and winked at her.

- - - - -

Mackenzie Allen and the rest of the tea troopers didn't exit her daughter's room until dinner was called. She was actually surprised at how long they had been in there for. "Time does fly when you're having fun," She said to Rod as she walked into the kitchen.

"What were you guys doing in there?"

"I was getting in touch with the kid in me," Rod gave her a questioning look, before turning his attention to the food on his plate that had just arrived in front of him.

- - - - -

Mac was happy that she didn't have to shoot off after dinner, as she wanted to catch up with her other daughter, Rebecca. "You wanted to see me?" Rebecca stood in the doorway of the first couple's bedroom where Mac was just finishing getting changed.

"Yeah I did baby, take a seat," Mac sat on the end of the bed and indicated for Rebecca to sit down too, which she did. "Have you even tried to talk to Andrea in the time she's been here?"

"Well...no,"

"Do you have a problem with her?"

"Well...no,"

"Then I expect you to at least try. Horace and Amy both have, I was having a tea party with the three of them this afternoon," A small grin appeared on Rebecca's face, the thought of her mother, the most powerful person in the world having a tea party was quite amusing, "Yeah, go on, laugh it up," Mac went back to being serious, "I don't need to remind you of what this poor girl has been through. Even she is making an effort to be friendly, so could put in a bit of effort yourself?"

"Yeah, ok mom," Rebecca nodded, then walked out the room. Rod appeared in the doorway a few seconds after Rebecca had left.

"So how was this tea party?" Mac looked up at her husband and smiled.

Still to be continued ;-)


	6. Memories

**I usually try and keep the chapters the same length...this one is a bit longer, but oh well. Enjoy.**

**Sniff I don't want CiC to end! NOOOOO!**

**Chapter 6**

After the short talk with her mom Rebecca headed to her bedroom. She walked in there and found Andrea sitting on her bed with her guitar, it was a nice, electric, red and black Gibson. It wasn't plugged in, as she didn't appear to have an amp with her. Rebecca looked at Andrea with her guitar, to her own guitar in the corner of the room. She then looked back to Andrea and saw that she was wearing red Cons, the same as her own, only hers were black.

"Been playing long?" Andrea looked up at Rebecca who moved from the doorway to her bed. Andrea just shook her head, she seemed a little unsure of Rebecca. "Play any other instruments?"

Looking a little uneasy, Andrea replied, "I used to bash around on my neighbour's drum kit and my Gran used to have a piano that I used to play sometimes, but I never got lessons for anything,"

"Cool," Rebecca smiled.

- - - - -

Sitting on the couch with a book in her hands, Mac thought about her afternoon with her kids and Andrea. The girl was so very different from what Mac remembered of Lisa, Andrea's mother. Andrea was a little quiet, but seemed friendly and definatly not hostile like Mac was kind of expecting. Lisa wasn't anything like that, she was loud, judgemental and turned quite hostile after her parents divorced. Mac remembered back to the day when Lisa found out her Dad was leaving. Mac was nearly sixteen and Lisa was about thirteen.

_"Lisa, what are you doing?" Mac opened up her bedroom window to let her friend in. "You know my mom would let you in, all you have to do is knock,"_

_"I wasn't sure if she'd be asleep or not," Mac looked at the clock that was by her bed, it was nearly midnight._

_"Good point. What are you doing here anyway?" She moved her feet so Lisa could take a seat on the end of her bed._

_"My Dad's leaving, my Mom kicked him out, but that's not why I'm here. I came by to see if you wanna come out with me, there's a party down at the beach."_

_"Now?" Mac looked at Lisa like she was crazy or something. She was nearly sixteen, she should have been the one dying to go to a party, but she really wasn't interested in that kind of stuff._

_"There are some guys out the front, they're gonna drive me there, or us if you wanna come," This was something Mac would usually say 'no' to, but she couldn't let Lisa go out to a party by herself with guys old enough to drive. They would just take advantage of her age and her emotional state. Even though she didn't really show it, Mac knew Lisa was upset that her Dad was leaving and she knew that Lisa would start drinking if she hadn't already started._

_Half an hour later Lisa and Mac were both down at the beach. Lisa was near a small bonfire with a bottle of beer in her hand, dancing with some guy who looked like he was nineteen or something. Mac was standing away from the party, but still so she could see her companion. A few guys had come over to her in the short time they had been there, but she just ignored them._

_About an hour later Lisa was getting hot and heavy with the same guy that she was dancing with earlier. Mac was worried that something was going to happen that could have serious consequenses. She was about to grab Lisa and get her out of there when the guy whispered something into her ear and they both headed towards Mac. "Luke wants to go for a drive, coming?" This was another one of those things Mac wanted to say no to, but she couldn't let Lisa drive off with this guy._

_"Sure."_

_Mac and Lisa follow Luke to his car. They were joined by another guy about Luke's age and all four of them got into the car. The two guys were in the front while Lisa and Mac were in the back. As soon as they started moving Mac knew she had made a mistake. Luke took off and skidded around a corner. They hooned around a few block before heading back down to the beach front. Mac could tell by Lisa's facial expression that she was scared and Mac herself was terrified._

_A few people on the beach cheered as Luke did a donut on the sand. He stuck his arm out the window and yelled out the window before heading off the beach and onto the road again to get more speed. Circling the block again, he put his foot down coming around the last corner in attempt to make a nice scene. A nice scene wasn't what he got. A car travelling in the opposite smashed into the side of Luke's car which spun around numerous times before slamming into a pole._

_Mac's side of the car was against the pole and Lisa's side had hit the car. Mac looked over at her friend, she was unconscious and had blood all over her face from her window which had smashed when hit by the other car. Mac was crying and shaking. She wanted to help Lisa, but she was stuck._

_An ambulance had been called and the four kids had to be cut out of the car. Mac only suffered a broken leg and minor lacerations. Lisa recieved a few broken ribs and some cuts and bruises. The other boys weren't so lucky, Luke died at the scene while the other boy died later at hospital._

_Mac could never forget the look on her parents' face when they met her at the hospital. Disappointment mixed with fear, relief, anger and shock. She never wanted to see that on their faces again. Wrapped in her mother's arms Mac cried and cried until there was nothing left to cry. She explained to them why she did what she did and they understood, but that didn't make her feel any better. Mac had never been as scared as she was that night._

Rod placed his hand on his wife's knee and she snapped back to the present. "Hey, you ok?" He looked at her with a worried look on his face. Mac nodded,

"Yeah I'm fine. I was just thinking." Rod was sure he saw a tear in her eye before, but he didn't take it any further.

"I'm going to bed now,"

"I'll be in there soon," Rod nodded and kissed his wife before leaving her in her own thoughts again.


	7. Take the job

**Thank you all you lovely reviewers. Ok, I've got a bit of drama lined up and I was gonna finish the story after that finished, but now a new idea has popped into my head and I don't know whether to add it in this story or make a whole new fic. **

**What do you all think? This new idea is DRAMA PACKED!...I hope lol.**

**So two short-ish fics or one long one with lots of drama? I would like to know your opinions.**

**Also, this chapter is kinda short, sorry, but it kinda levels out with the long chapter :-P**

**Chapter 7**

Sunday was a pretty quiet day for Andrea. She just drifted around the residence from person to person hoping she wasn't getting in the way. She bumped into Horace as he walked out of his room. She had been walking pretty quickly and he wasn't slow emerging from his room either. Horace knocked his jaw rather hard on Andrea's head. He rubbed his mouth and she put her hand up to her temple, they both looked at each other, "Sorry, I didn't see you,"

"I'm so sorry," They both said in unison then laughed. "After you," Horace put out his arm and Andrea walked past, both walking into the kitchen. "Looking forward to school?" The girl shook her head,

"I'm The President's 'Love Child', school is going to be so much fun," There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice and Horace grinned,

"Yeah I spose. Kelly has been on her toes ever since you showed up," Horace saw Andrea's face drop, "But don't worry, she's used to it," This didn't really make Andrea feel any better, but she let it go anyway.

- - - - -

Mac enjoyed dinner with her family once again that night. She noticed that Rebecca was actually trying with Andrea now and had a whole conversation with her at the table. After dinner Mac was approached by her husband just outside their bedroom door. "Mackenzie Allen, if you are not busy would you care to join me on a jog around this large, white building we are in?" Mac smiled at Rod,

"I would love to Mr. Colloway," The weekend had been pretty quiet, which probably meant something big was going to come up, like the calm before the storm. She had nothing on left on her agenda for that night, apart from some reading which she could do after a nice jog with her husband.

Both Mac and Rod got changed into their trackies and headed outside. The main part of the journey was actually getting outside, but they eventually got there and as soon as they did they were at it, "C'mon you old man," Mac teased before heading off. Rod mocked a look of offence, but then grinned and took off after his wife. He caught up nearly straight away and they jogged side by side.

"Mac, I wanna take the job," Rod cut right to the point.

"What?"

"I want the job of baseball commissioner," Rod looked at Mac as he jogged, she didn't say anything straight away, but then stopped and looked at him.

"I want you to be happy Rod. If your happyness is in New York then you should go. You've supported me in all my decisions throughout this marriage and I want to support you in yours,"

"But I don't want to leave you alone, with another kid to worry about,"

"I'm sure my mother wouldn't mind helping me out now and again," Mac really didn't want Rod to take the job, it would mean many nights of him away in New York. She wanted him right by her side at all times like he had always been in the past, but she didn't want to hold him back.

"Ok then," Rod smiled at the woman he loved then turned and continued to jog. Mac sighed and quickly caught up to him.

- - - - -

After the completion of their workout, Mac and Rod headed back to the residence. They checked on Amy, who was already asleep, and said goodnight to the other three before heading into the bedroom they shared.

Mac walked into the bathroom and rinsed her face before walking back into the room where Rod was sitting on the end of the bed. He stood up as she entered the room, still in her trackies, with her hair messy and slightly damp from sweat, "Have I ever told you how sexy you look?" She grinned as he pulled her into a kiss and they both fell back onto the bed.


	8. More Like you

**Sorry I've taken so long...I've been lazy, but I blame it on the fact that cic isn't on. Why is it that all the shows I love get cancelled? sniff Oh well.**

**I wrote this one a while ago, but didn't finish it. It's a bit sucky, but oh well.**

**Chapter 8**

Monday had now come around and Andrea started to worry. She had never changed schools before, except when going into high school, which didn't count since she was with all the same people and she was still pretty much in the same area. Now she was starting a whole new school in a different city with a whole lot of people she didn't know.

Andrea barely touched her breakfast and was very quiet on the way there. It took her a while to exit the car and Rebecca had to literally drag her inside. With her hands in her jean pockets and her head down so her hair and hat covered her face, Andrea followed Horace and Rebecca through the halls. She didn't look up, but she could tell that there were more than a few eyes on her.

- - - - -

"Ok, that's it! This has gone too far!" Rod's voice was slightly raised as he walked into the oval office. Mac looked up from where she was seated behind the desk. He threw the paper he was holding onto her desk, on top of the papers she was looking through. Without saying a word The President looked at the paper, as she read it her face changed from bored to angry. When Mac had finished it, she set it on the edge of the desk and let out a sigh. "We can't just let this guy keep doing this. He's falsly giving you a bad name,"

Mac could see that her husband was quite worked up, and she could understand why. If some woman had made up some story about Rod having a love-child that was hers and then released the so called 'details' to the public, details of which should belong in a romance novel, she would be a little pissed. She was very thankful that her husband wasn't questioning her, it was nice to know he trusted her, "Rod, I have about a million things to do today, I really don't have time to deal with this," Rod looked like he wanted to hit something, "I trust that you can deal with it for me." Rod just nodded and left the room.

- - - - -

Andrea made it through to lunch ok. She had sat near the back in most her classes, that way she wouldn't get stared at. There were a few comments made about her being President Mackenzie Allen's daughter, but they were nothing major and she blocked them out. It wasn't until lunch time she had any trouble. The girl walked into the cafeteria and looked for either Horace or Rebecca. She spotted Rebecca lining up for lunch and she ran over to join her. After getting a tray of food each, Rebecca and Andrea started walking towards some seats. They were stopped by a guy, who looked like he was in his last year of school. He stood in front of the two girls then spat right into Andrea's food before walking off into the crowd.

Rebecca yelled abuse at the guy and when they reached some seats she offered Andrea some of her own food. Horace saw what happened from across the cafeteria and he made his way towards them, "You ok?" Andrea nodded,

"What was with that anyway?" Horace sat down next to Andrea and offered his tray,

"He's Conner, the son of the man claiming to be your father,"

- - - - -

Neither Rod or Mac was home to greet their kids when they arrived home after school. "Can you come and play with me Becca? Please?"

"I can't Amy, I have lots of homework to do. Sorry," Rebecca and Horace both headed to their bedrooms. The youngest Calloway turned to Andrea,

"Can you play with me?" Andrea couldn't think of anything she had to do,

"Yeah sure," Amy smiled, grabbed Andrea's hand and led her through the residence to her room.

"You're so cool. I wish Becca was more like you," Rebecca stiffened behind her bedroom door as she heard this. Almost immediately, resentment towards Andrea swelled inside of her. First her parents, then her brother and now her little sister. They all loved her. Rebecca kicked Andrea's backpack out of the way and headed towards the cd player. She turned it on and up then flopped on her bed.


	9. I like Chocolate

**Chapter 9**

For the next week Rebecca was really cold towards Andrea, but the girl had no idea why. Andrea gave up trying to talk to Rebecca and just spent the week hanging around with Horace at school. Conner hadn't been any nicer to her and she learnt that his mother had left his Dad because of the rumors. He convinced her they were true so she left him. Andrea thought the guy must be nuts to not back down even to save his marriage. Conner was taking his anger out on her saying it was her fault. Because of this Andrea started wondering if there was any truth behind it, but Mac assured her over and over that it definately was not true.

- - - - -

"I'll be back in a few days and I'll bring you all back something," Rod kissed his wife goodbye and waved to his kids as he got into the limo that would take him to the airport, away from his family. Mac felt like crying so bad, but plastered a smile on for Rod and for the kids. After the limo was out of site they all trudged back inside. Horace could see that his mother was bothered, but she disappeared before he could talk to her.

Part of Mac was angry at Rod for leaving her at such a time, but then another part of her was angry at herself for being angry at him. He loved baseball and Mac didn't want him to be unhappy by missing out on such a great opportunity.

- - - - -

Horace was sitting at his desk finishing off some homework when Andrea knocked on the door and poked her head in. Nothing unusual, it was becoming a nightly ritual. He smiled at her and she walked in and sat on his bed. "Whatcha up to?"

"Weekend homework, I thought I'd get it over and done with or I'm likely to forget about it," Horace put his pen down and turned around to face his guest. "What about you?"

"My teachers are too lazy to set homework, well not really, but I didn't get any for the weekend. I think homework on weekends should be banned,"

"Maybe you should talk to my mom about it," Horace grinned, as did Andrea. Both teenages sat there for a moment in a comfortable silence before Horace stood up and moved to the bed. He had his eyes locked on what he wanted, her. Just before he was about to make his move Horace lost his nerve, "I like chocolate, especially..." Andrea giggled then put her finger on his lip before leaning over and kissing him.

After a moment they both slowly pulled back, Horace tried to think of something to say but he couldn't so he just leaned in and kissed her again.

- - - - -

Andrea had a huge smile on her face and a dreamy look in her eye when she walked into Rebecca's room that night to get ready for bed. The smile didn't even leave her as she drifted to sleep. She was happy.

At 1:30 am she was awoken by the sound of Rebecca climbing out the window. Andrea was shocked, not that Rebecca was sneaking out, but because Rebecca even thought she could make it. The girl walked over to the open window and watched Rebecca climb out. Andrea thought about all the security and wondered how far Becca was gonna get.

Andrea was terrified of heights, so climbing out of the window was not an easy task, but she wanted to know where Rebecca was going. She followed her until they were out of the grounds, she was really surprised they had made it. Now they were out she decided to let her presence be known to the one leading the path. "Where are we going?" Becca turned around, startled.

"What are you doing following me?"

"Exactly that following you," Rebecca gave Andrea an annoyed look then continued walking. Andrea caught up to her and walked with her, "So how did you pull that off?"

"What off?"

"Sneaking out of the grounds, I thought it was impossible,"

"I have my ways,"

The rest of the walk was in silence, Rebecca was hoping the girl would just leave her alone, but that didn't happen.


	10. She has to go

**Comments please!**

****

**Chapter 10**

"You snuck out for this?" Andrea sounded almost disappointed as she saw the bonfire with about a dozen teenagers sitting around it.

"Go home if you don't like it," Rebecca said hopefully. Andrea just ignored her and walked over to the bonfire. They were at, what looked like, an old basketball court. Across the road was a pier, she could only just see it as it was dimly lit by a few street lights.

"Hey Becca," Some guy wearing a singlet, shorts and a tie, with a cigarette in his hands walked over to Rebecca and put his arm around her. Another guy, a short guy also wearing a singlet with a tie, noticed Andrea,

"You brought your friend, cool." He walked over to the girl and tried to put his arm around her, but she just brushed him off.

After an hour of sitting around the nearly-out fire Andrea was almost out of her mind with boredom. A few of the guys had disappear with some chicks attached to their arms and a few others had joined. For almost the whole time Rebecca's lips were locked with the guy who had greeted her. The short guy had tried to make moves on Andrea but she ignored him everytime.

She noticed she short guy looking at her funny while he was whispering to another guy. This made her quite uncomfortable, "Hey Rebecca, don't you think we should go now?" She got ignored though.

"Hey babe, let's go a spin," Rebecca's guy stood up and pulled her to her feet. Without even glancing at Andrea, she walked with him to his car and got it. Andrea called out to her, but again she was ignored. A really bad feeling swept over the girl as she watched the car disappear around the corner in a cloud of smoke.

Short-guy and his sleezy-looking friend made their way over to Andrea and sat next to her, one both side. "C'mon baby, let's get out of here," Andrea looked at the short guy in disgust as he put his arm around her.

"I'm not going anywhere with either of you,"

"Fine, if that's the way you want it!" He pushed her backwards so she fell off the bench they were sitting on. Sleeze-guy pinned her down by holding her hands down on the ground above her head. She started yelling and screaming. She couldn't believe that the other guys and their girls were just watching and not doing anything. Shorty took off his tie and shoved it in her mouth as a gag. He then moved on top of her and started to unzip his pants. Andrea started kicking her legs frantically but it wasn't doing anything, so she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his neck. She brought them back down with his head locked in her ankles. He was pulled backwards and his head hit the ground, she then pulled her wrists out of the other guy's grip, got up and ran.

She hadn't gotten very far when she saw the car Becca was in screech around the corner; It was going way too fast. The back tires hit some loose rocks and the car slid around a lot more than intented. Andrea could see the guy trying to correct this by turning the wheel as fast as he could and Rebecca looked terrified.

It all happened so fast, Andrea screamed and the car hit the water. She ran as fast as she could to the edge of the pier. The car was sinking bonnet first. She dived in and swam over to Rebecca's door. Rebecca was frantically trying to get her seatbelt off. Andrea grabbed the door handled and pulled as hard as she could, the water was making it hard to open, but she got it open. She leaned over Rebecca and got the seatbelt off. "Get out!" She yelled and looked over at the driver, he was climbing through the window. They were both ok.

All three made it back up, there was a ladder they found and climbed it. Andrea grabbed the cell phone of one of the guys who was at the basketball court and called Horace's cell number; the only number she remembered off by heart.

Horace picked up, he sounded like he was still asleep, "Hello?"

"Horace, it's Andrea, can you put Mac on please?" Andrea was crying as she spoke. She didn't give Mac any details over the phone, only where they were and that something had happened. A sick feeling filled Andrea's stomach as she saw the limo pull up. It was now only Andrea and Rebecca as everyone else had scattered, not wanting to get in trouble. The look on Mac's face made Andrea feel like dying. She felt so guilty.

Mac didn't ask for details until they had been checked out at the hospital and were back in the White house. "Would someone like to tell me what the hell happened!" Mac didn't bother hiding how angry she was. Rebecca was about to start explaining when Andrea jumped in first,

"It was my fault!" The feeling of wanting to die grew. Andrea hated the way Mac was looking at her; disappointment, disgust, sadness and anger, "There was a party-like thing and...and I thought it would be fun. I was being stupid and got into a car with a guy and he lost control," Andrea just started bawling, she couldn't hold it in.

"I need to call Rod," With that Mac left the room. Rebecca looked at Andrea,

"Why did you do that?"

"Your her daughter, she would rather be disappointed in me than you." Rebecca stood up and walked out in the same direction as her mother. Horace walking into the room and looked at Andrea sitting on the couch. She looked up at him, his face made her feel as bad as Mac's did. He shook his head at her then left again.

Standing outside her parents' bedroom Becca overheard her mother on the phone.

"...she has to go Rod..."


	11. Cover

**Chapter 11**

Rebecca couldn't let Andrea take the blame for the stupid mistake she had made. Shaking, partly because of what had happened and partly because of nerves, she turned to door handle to Mackenzie and Rod's room and walked in. "Mom?"

"Becca honey, I'm talking to your dad,"

"But this is important," Mac looked at Rebecca for a second, trying to read her face, then spoke into the phone,

"Rod, I'll call you back," She hung up and sat on the bed. Rebecca sat on the other side of the bed and looked at Mac.

"A-Andrea didn't do it mom, it was me,"

"You don't need to cover for her honey..." Mac was cut off,

"I'm not! I snuck out and she followed me. I got into the car and she helped me out. She just said it was her because she doesn't think she's important to you, she said you would rather be disappointed in her than me," Mac put her head in her hands and sighed.

"Why did you do that? I would also like to know how, no scrap that. What were you thinking?! You could have been killed, you could have both been killed!" Mac was now pacing the room looking at Rebecca, "I don't know what to say to you right now. Go, go to your room or something." Rebecca got up and left the room with Mac at her heels.

- - -

Andrea was stuffing her clothes into her suitcases when Rebecca and Mac entered the bedroom. "Andrea, please come out here," The girl stood, wiped her eyes with her sleeve and then followed Mac into the living room. "Have a seat," Andrea sat down and Mac sat down opposite her. "Rebecca told me that it was her. I'm sorry about before Andrea."

"I deserve it, I snuck out too," Andrea was still crying and it made it hard for Mackenzie to understand what she was saying so she passed her a tissue.

"If you hadn't of then Rebecca might be...dead," Mac moved over to the couch Andrea was sitting on and put her arm around the girl's shoulders. "Thank you for pulling Rebecca out of the car,"

Andrea spent the next half an hour crying into the President's shoulder.

- - -

The next day Mac called Rod and told him the story. He said he would book the next flight home. She was grateful for that because, as she had feared, there were lots of questions from the press concerning the going ons of the previous night.

Rod arrived back at the White house at lunch while his wife was in a meeting so he was greeted by Amy and Horace. Rebecca hadn't emerged from her room since breakfast and neither had Andrea. Niether of them were really talking though.

When Mac got back to the residence she pretty much collapsed in Rod's arms. She didn't bother hiding the tears like she usually did, she just let them flow.

- - -

All bedroom doors were closed, Andrea and Rebecca in theirs, Horace in his, Amy in hers and Rod and Mac in theirs. Andrea ventured out the room and headed towards Horace's. She wanted to clear things up with him because she couldn't stand the thought of him being angry with her. She knocked and poked her head in as usual. He was laying on his bed, he looked at her then went back to looking at the ceiling.

She walked in and closed the door behind her, "Horace?"

"What do you want?" He didn't even look up. She sat on the end of the bed,

"I know you're angry with me because of what I said last night, but that wasn't true," He stayed silent so she continued, "I followed Rebecca out. I just said it was me because...well...I dunno, I spose I'm stupid or something. Anyways, Rebecca confessed last night. Please don't hate me," Horace sat up and looked at her,

"I don't hate you. I wanted to very much, but I couldn't." Andrea moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around him. He kissed the top of her head and held her close.


	12. End of drama? I think not!

**Chapter 12**

After talking with Mackenzie, Rod's temper was fully lit. "Rebecca Calloway!" He walked into the hall and was met by Rebecca, "I think we need to have a talk," Rebecca had been dreading this, but she knew it had to happen. She did deserve it.

- - -

Horace and Andrea heard most of their talk from inside Horace's bedroom. He got off the bed and turned on the cd player, putting the volume so it was not too loud, but blocking out Rod's voice. He returned to the bed and sat back next to Andrea. There was a look on her face he had not seen before, he could pick what it was either. "Are you ok?" The girl nodded, but her face told him otherwise, "Did something else happen last night?" Andrea was quiet for a while then started explaining everything that had happened. She started crying when she got to the part with Shorty and Sleezy. Horace pulled her close and listened to everything she had to say. She had stopped crying by the time she had finished her story and she felt a lot better. "Do you know who they are? Coz I can make sure they get..." Andrea shook her head and he stopped.

- - -

"Rod! Can you please tell me what I'm looking at here?" Mac placed a newspaper on Rod's lap. He was sitting up in bed reading a book. His eyes left the page he was reading for a second to register that it was a newspaper she was talking about,

"A newspaper,"

"Very funny Rod. I'm serious, why is there an artical about you getting into a fight with the guy claiming Andrea is mine and his love child?" Rod looked up at his wife, she was standing beside him, in her pajamas with her arms crossed, "Well the artical answers my question I suppose, but why am I finding out about it though a newspaper Rod?"

"I-I...It slipped my mind,"

"Oh please, don't give me that crap. It's sweet that you want to stick up for me, but Rod, for God's sake, don't you think I have enough media drama to deal with right now?"

"I'm sorry, ok? I wasn't thinking. I saw him and he was being an ass. He was saying things about you that I wasn't comfortable with." Mac climbed in bed, a little calmer, "Please forgive me," He said sencerly, but with a playful grin.

"How can I stay mad at you?" She smiled and kissed him to let him know it was all good, "But please tell me about things next time."

- - -

The next morning was monday; back to school. Andrea woke up to the sound of Horace's alarm clock. She looked over and saw Horace waking up next to her. He saw her and smiled, "Hey,"

"I can't believe I let that happen!" She got up and tried to find her shoes.

"Nothing happened,"

"So? I put us both in a position where something could have happened. Something we would regret,"

"I wouldn't regret it,"

"I would," She opened the door and walked out, leaving Horace slightly confused.

- - -

Rebecca didn't ask Andrea any questions about her wherabouts, they still hadn't really talked since. The breakfast table was strangely quiet with only Mac, Rod and Amy contributing to any conversations. Niether Horace, Andrea or Rebecca spoke on the way to school and they didn't have any time to talk even if they wanted to once they got there because the bell rang and they went off to class.

Rebecca and Andrea met up as they walked into the cafeteria. Together they stood in the serving line, silently. Rebecca had so much she wanted to say to the girl, but she didn't know how to start so she stuck with silence. Once they had got their food, Becca looked at Andrea then left her to go sit with some of her friends. Andrea noticed Horace walk in, they both walked towards each other. "Wanna go outside and...talk?" Andrea nodded, she grabbed her food off the tray, left the tray in the cafeteria and followed Horace outside.

They found a nice sunny spot on the grass and took a seat. "What did you mean this morning when you said you'd regret it?"

"I-It's nothing personal Horace. I just wanna...ya know...wait until I'm married. I don't wanna be like my mother. I want a house, a job, a husband and a dog before I have kids. Not that that's what you asked, but yeah...sex creates life, not all the time, but there's always a chance, and I don't want that responsibility right now or for a long time and I'm sorry. I carry on a bit much sometimes." Andrea rolled her eyes at herself and Horace laughed.

"I get it. It's cool."

They continued to sit eat and laugh as they talked, not really paying attention to what was going on around them. They didn't notice three boys walk straight past them wearing big, baggy jackets which looked suspiciously lumpy.


	13. President or mother?

**Chapter 13**

Horace and Andrea got up and headed back to the cafeteria. They figured lunch would nearly be over and a cool wind was building up outside. The cafeteria was full, making it hard for them to find Rebecca and she wasn't at the table she usually sat at.

A gunshot rang through the halls and everyone in the room fell silent. It was like the whole world had gone mute for just a moment, with just the ringing of the shot. A kid ran in the room and screamed, "He's got a gun!" and the whole cafeteria went completely nuts. Everyone, including Horace and Andrea, fought the crowd to get to the door. People were pushed to the ground, rammed into walls, but when two of the guys wearing baggy jackets appeared in the doorway holding some big-ass guns, the crowd split up and tried to find whatever possible cover.

One of the boys let out a cruel laugh before walking confidently into the cafeteria. Horace and Andrea were crouched behind a bin near the door; not the best hiding stop, but the best they could find without thinking. Andrea was shaking furiously, trying hard to not breathe too loudly.

- - -

Mackenzie Allen was sitting at her desk in the oval office, a phone to her ear and a pen in her hand; signing papers while having a phone meeting. Without even knocking, Rod burst through the door followed closely by Vince, Jim and Kelly. Mac looked at them and indicated that this phone call was very important. Rod ignored it and grabbed the remote control for the TV.

"Mac you need to see this," Rod said as he switched the TV on. "…It is unknown how many are in the building or how many are injured. More updates later." Rod swore and turned it off again. Mac covered the mouth piece of the phone, "Rod, what is going on? It better be important…"

"Some lunatics have taken guns to school and are shooting students. _Our_ children's school!" Rod cut her off.

"We've contacted the police and asked them what's going on, but we didn't get much out of them," Kelly continued.

Mac's face changed to that of worry. She turned her attention back to the phone call and quickly ended it. Once she had hung up she stood and walked over to Rod. "What can we do to get kids out of there?"

- - -

The two boys in the cafeteria were quickly joined by the third one and it was obvious he was the leader. "Have fun boys," He said before letting his finger loose on the trigger. He shot around the room, above everyone at first, just to scare. He didn't need to though, everyone was already terrified. The three boys walked around the room, confronting individuals as they found them. Andrea could no longer watch after a younger kid, just meters away, was shot and in the head. She shuttered and Horace held his hand over her eyes.

Time seemed to drag on forever. It seemed like hours as the boys walked back and forth, opening fire just randomly around, and occasionally at people they saw. Finally the three boys left the room and went to another part of the school. For Andrea it felt like half an hour of full on praying that everyone would be safe, when actually it was only a minute and a half. Everyone stayed still and quiet when the boys left, but once the gun shots sounded distant people started to get up.

"Where is Becca?" Horace asked as his eyes darted to and fro looking for his sister. Before Andrea could say anything, they both started getting pushed out of the way as people rushed to the door.

- - -

"I have to get to the school, I don't care about procedures. I just want to see my children damn it!"

"Mrs Allen I don't think..."

"No! If you want to remain part of my staff you will get me to the school," Rod had never seen his wife like this before. Making threats to staff wasn't usually on her day-planner. She was a very professional lady, but it was quite obvious that she was a mother above President.

- - -

Horace and Andrea made their way through one of the halls with a group of students from the cafeteria. They were as shaking furiously and jumped at the smallest things. Andrea nearly screamed when they walked past the stairs and she saw, in the corner of her eye, some students crouched down. They had startled her.

Andrea saw the disappointment and panic in Horace's eyes when he saw that his sister wasn't with that group of people. She grabbed his shaking hand and squeezed it before jogging to keep up with their now-larger group, looking for an exit.

Suddenly one of the three boys jumped out from a classroom and blocked their way. He laughed as a few of the people in the group swore, others screamed. They all turned and ran. Most the group went straight ahead, and a few, including Horace and Andrea, went up the stairs. The gun-wielding boy followed after the larger group, but fired a few shots up the stairs as he ran past. One girl was hit in the leg and had to be carried.

Tears were pouring down her face and her heart was pounding, this had to be the scariest day of Andea's life, and it was about to get scarier. They decided to stop in a empty classroom for a rest. One guy, who was in one of Andrea's classes, suggested they climbed out the window and onto the ledging outside, then edge across until they were above the sheds, which would mean not so far to jump. Andrea wasn't a huge fan of hights, but she was even less of a fan of getting shot. She helped the guy to open the window wide enough, and he volunteered to go first.

Horace tapped Andrea on the shoulder, and she turned to face him. "Yeah?"

"I can't go."

"It's better than being shot..."

"No, I mean I can't leave Rebecca in here," Horace cut her off. She nodded in understanding and followed Horace out into the hall.

- - -

"Ma'am I think you should stay in the car."

"Jim, I really don't care what you think right now. I am a mother, I want to be where the rest of the worried mothers are!" Rod, sitting next to Mac in the Presidential Limo, put his hand on his wife's knee. "Mac, I think Jim is right. You should stay here. We shouldn't have even come this far. You're just going to get questions and demands, and if I'm correct, I don't think you're really up to that right now."

"Rod I just want to see..."

"I know. I know because I do too." Mackenzie looked at Rod and he could see tears starting to form. He put his arm around her and she buried her head in his arm, crying.


	14. Secret Services

**Chapter 14**

Rebecca was shaking like crazy, huddled up with a few girls in an empty classroom. They'd been in the girls toilets when they heard the first few gunshots and decided that the toilets were a very trapped-if-you-get-seen type of room so they found a classroom. Not that it was much better.

The door to the classroom swung open and Rebecca froze. She could hear her heart pounding, it sounded so loud she was sure that everyone else could hear it too. To the relief of all those in the room, it was one of the secret services. He spotted Rebecca and picked up his radio. "I have Miss Calloway. We are in a small classroom opposite to the library."

"Thank God you're here..." Rebecca started, but the secret serviceman, whom she referred to as 'Bob', had walked out the door. Rebecca looked at the other three girls, wondering if they should follow him. Before they could move though, he reappeared. This time with company.

- - -

"What happened to the men in black who are supposed to watch out for you guys?" Andrea whispered to Horace as they snuck down a corridor.

"I don't know. I haven't heard any shots in a while so maybe they got the shooters." Horace's sentence was followed by a loud band. It sounded pretty far awa, but they still both jumped and ducked.

"You were saying?"

- - -

The head gunman smiled as he saw Rebecca Calloway cornered; sitting in a corner with his gun pointing right at her head. "Great work," He said to Bob without taking his eyes off his target.

"Hey squirt, get out the way. She's mine." Bob shoved the gunman out of the way and pointed his own gun at Becca. He moved his aim slightly to the right and shot the girl sitting next to her. Rebecca let out a cry and he moved his aim back to her. She closed her eyes and waited for it to end. The deafening sound rang again, but Rebecca was still alive. She opened her eyes and saw that the gunman was lying dead on the floor and the Bob was looking at him. "Trying to take my glory? I don't think so."

Bob saw one of the other girls eyeing off the gunman's gun that was now on the floor. He smirked and kicked it backwards, away from the girls.

Horace heard a scream from the nearby classroom and recognized it right away as Rebecca's. He grabbed Andrea's arm and they quietly ran towards the open door. They couldn't tell who was in the classroom, but another gunshot from inside told them that there was a shooter there.

Andrea could see that Horace was starting to panic. His sister was in the room with a gunman, she didn't blame him for panicing.

Horace looked through the small gap between the door and the doorframe. He couldn't see much, but he could see that there was a man with a gun and a gun on the ground behind him. Horace motioned to Andrea to stay put and he edged slowly inside the room. Once he got inside he could see that the shooter was dressed like one of the secret services and he was aiming his gun at Rebecca and ranting on about glory.

The gun wasn't too far away from the door, but it was too far away to sneak to. The guy threatening to shoot was bound to see him before he got there, so Horace decided to bolt for it. He jumped out and grabbed for the gun but missed it. Bob turned around and took a shot.

Andrea accidentally let out a scream as she watched Horace fall to the floor. She also heard Rebecca scream, which was a slight relief, at least she was alive, but was Horace?

- - -

"Rod, where's the phone? I want an update."

"Honey you called the police three minutes ago. Give it a bit longer." Rod and Mac were still in the limo.

"Once I get my hands on those agents..."

"We don't know what happened. There could be more than we know, they might have been outnumbered."

"They're there to protect our children Rod, they're not doing a very good job."

"Mrs President, there is a phone call for you," Jim passed the phone back to Mac, who cleared her throat and tried to keep her voice from breaking down.

"Hello? Oh Amy honey, everything is okay."

- - -

Andrea sprang into the room, her presence was already known through her scream so she may as well try be useful, she figured. Bob looked at her and Rebecca jumped up. His attention was back on her, but had to keep Andrea in the corner of his eye just in case she went for the gun. He pointed his gun yet again at Rebecca, the gun fired and he fell to the ground.

Rebecca let out a cry and ran to Horace who dropped his gun and was trying to get up. "You're bleeding!"

Horace looked at his arm and cringed. "I'll live." He then looked over at the two men, "Bob helped them?" Rebecca nodded sadly,

Before setting off again, they checked on the girl who had been shot. She was still alive but hurt pretty badly and was difficult to move. "Stay here and play dead, we'll get help," Andrea suggested before she headed off with the other four. Both Horace and Rebecca carrying the two guns.


	15. She Waited

**Chapter 15**

_"Mackenzie? Has anyone seen Mackenzie?" Mac could hear her mother calling out for her in the crowded room, but she couldn't see her. People were pushing past her; in a rush to find their loved ones. The time seemed to be standing still yet everyone was moving so quickly; Mac felt so lost. Suddenly someone grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug. "Mac! I've been worried sick. I thought you were still in there, I thought maybe you'd never come out._

_Mac could still hear the explosions ringing in her ears. She thought she could still feel them too; she was shaking so violently. "Is Rod out? Is Rod okay?" _

_"I don't know sweetie; I really don't."_

_Rod had gone off to another class while Mackenzie stayed in the library to finish off an assignment. They were planning to meet up later and go watch a baseball game. She was quite excited about it and she wasn't really sure why. Maybe it was because Rod seemed special; she'd never met anyone quite like him before. Anything they did together, he could make it fun. So instead of doing her assignment like she had planned to, Mac found herself doodling Rod's name in lovehearts in her book. _

_As Mac got up to leave the library for lunch she felt the ground beneath her tremble. Was it an earthquake? It stopped, but then she heard an explosion and the rumbling this time was more violent. _

_Within minutes there were screams coming from every direction, people were running everywhere and there were explosions going off one after another. From what she could gather, someone had planted bombs throughout the building._

_Smoke clouded the air, fire blocked some exits; soon enough there were people jumping from the high stories of the building. Mac was following a small crowd of people who were heading for an open window on the second story. Fifteen feet away from this window; it exploded. A few of the people ahead of her were thrown backwards and there were burns all over them._

_Eventually a safe exit was found and Mackenzie ran from the building._

- - -

Rod was startled when his wife violently threw her arms around his stomach and started to sob uncontrolably. He knew what she'd just been thinking about; he'd been thinking the same thing, but his experience had been a bit different than Mac's. He had been one of the last ones to get out because he was trapped in a classroom. He later found out that Mac had spent five hours waiting around for any news on him after she had gotten out. He couldn't believe she had done that, and they'd only been seeing each other for a few weeks. It was then he realized that she was the girl for him.

It wasn't a boyfriend she was waiting for now, it was her own children and Rod knew that she would wait forever for them to come out of that building. He prayed she wouldn't have to go through that again though.


	16. Relief

**Chapter 16**

Carrying the guns for protection just in case they ran into the other two or more gunmen, Andrea, Horace, Rebecca and the two other girls decided they'd head for the nearest exit, which would be the front entrance. A shot close by made them all jump, it was followed by another and some laughter.

"Where did that come from?" Rebecca asked, half whispering. Andrea looked around to the left and pointed to the room adjacent to the room they just came out of.

"I think it came from in there."

"What do we do?" Andrea answered Rebecca by grabbing the gun from her and walking to the doorway of the room she pointed to.

"Andrea what are you doing?" Horace hissed. Andrea ignored him and peered into the room. Similar to the previous room, there was a guy with a gun holding some students hostage, except it looked more like target practice. There were four or so students and two teachers standing along the far wall and a gunman pointing his gun along at them. Two people were already on the floor face down. Andrea recognized one of the people along the wall as Conner. He spotted her and the gun in her hands. The guy with the gun saw Conner's eyes look behind him and saw his face change so he spun around and automatically shot at the door. Andrea had moved away just in time.

- - -

"Students who have escaped the building are being led to the hall across the street, do you want us to go there and see if..."

"Yes, yes definately Jim, let's go. Maybe they got out."

"Do they know if any people have been killed?" Rod didn't like thinking about it, but he had to ask. Jim had just got off the phone with the head of police once again.

"Some of the students who got out reported a few people being shot and possibly killed, but nothing is known for sure."

- - -

Horace ran over to Andrea and grabbed her with his good arm. "Are you crazy? Let's get out of here."

"We can't leave them in there!"

"No, but you can join them," Andrea let out a cry as she felt a gun barrel at her temple. "All three of you, but first give me the gun."

Andrea slowly held the gun up so he could grab it off her.

"What about this one?" Horace pulled his gun out ready to shoot, but realized it was a stupid mistake. If he shot at the man there was a possibility of him hitting Andrea who was directly in front. Andrea realized this though and tried to duck, but the man was holding her hair.

"I'll have that one too then," But before the man could get the gun there was an almighty thud as a fire extiguisher came down hard on his head, and he fell to the floor. Conner dropped the fire extinguisher on the man and then took off down the hall, followed by the rest of the people from that room. Rebecca, Horace and Andrea, thinking of no better option, also followed.

- - -

Once they had made it outside an overwhelming sense of relief washed over Andrea. She just started to cry. Rebecca made her way over to Andrea and put her arm around her. Crying together they walked towards the ambulance officers who were waiting for any students who got out.


	17. Chapter 17

**Sorry it has taken sooooo long. I got Cic on DVD so I'm happy :-) I'm not quite sure how to finish it off, so this is kinda short, but I'll add to it later.**

Horace, Rebecca and Andrea were ushered along with the group to where the students were being checked over by a medical team and checked off a list to make sure everyone was accounted for. As soon as their names were crosses off the list a phone call came through to the President.

"Thank God!" Mackenzie let out a sigh of relief and she felt Rod's hand squeeze hers. "I want to see them right away. Where are they?"

"They are with the rest of the students who have been taken to the hall to be reunited with their families ma'am." Jim could see there was no use arguing with President Allen anymore, she wanted to see her children and that was that.

The Presidential car pulled up as close as possible to the hall and was surrounded by media were thrown at the President from all directions, but she rushed past, secret services and Rod in tow. She walked in the door and scanned the room with her eyes. Looking for any sign of her children. Luckily for her, it's impossible for her to walk in a room unnoticed. Horace, Rebecca and Andrea noticed her immediately and rushed over. Mackenzie threw her arms around the twins and tried hard not to start crying. Rod joined them in the embrace, then pulled back to compose himself when he felt the tears coming.

"Mom, it was so scary. I thought I was going to die." Rebecca sobbed in Mac's shoulder. Mac kissed her daughter's forehead and glanced at Andrea who was standing just to the side of them a bit. She caught her eye and gave her a smile and a wink.

Rebecca could see the parents of the girl who had got shot next to her inside. She could just make out that they were being told she was okay and on her way to hospital. Rebecca smiled, knowing that she was going to be okay.

"I'm so glad you are all okay, I don't know what I would have done if you didn't come out of that building." Mac smiled at the three of them, then Rod. Past Rod's shoulder, Mac could see a husband and wife sobbing uncontrolably in each other's arms. They had just been told that their only son had been killed inside the building. Mackenzie's heart went out to them and she let them know that then, and later in a speech addressed to the whole country.

- - - - -


End file.
